Carbid-feeding device for acetylene-gas generators.



APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1908- PATENTED OCT. 22. 1907.

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No. 868,848. PATENTED 0QT.22, 1907.

A. DAVIS.

GARBID FEEDING DEVICE FOR AGETYLENE GAS GENERAT0RS.-

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

AUGUSTINE nlivIs, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIoNon TO DAVIS ACETYLENE COMPANY,

OF. ELKHART, INDIANA, A CORPORATION or sown in KOTA.

chasm-mamas :DEVICE non AoE'rYLEnE-elis ominaa'rons.

Specification of Letters Patent. a lication filed June 4, 1906. SerialNo. 320,059.

Batented 001;. 22, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUSTINE Dlivrsja citizen of, the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Gook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carbid-FeedingDevices for Acetylene-Gas Generators, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to an improved and novel mechanism for feeding the carhid in an acetylene gas generator; and its principal object is'the uniform delivery from the feed hopper to the generator of a quantity of cal-bid, the feeding mechanism being controlled by any suitable form of motor, the action of the latter being regulated preferably by the gas hell or reservoir. In orderto relieve the carbid being fed to the generator from the pressure or weight of that above it, the passage through the mouth of the hopper is made somewhat tortuous, and the feeding is controlled by a wheel preferably conjunction with a pivoted valve riding on the wheel.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my in vention,-l{igurc 1 is an elevation of my improved feeding means, the casing being partly broken away to Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section of 'the construction illustrated in Fig. 1, the motor for actuating the feeding device being omitted; and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the device illustrated in Fig. 2, on the line 33, looking downwardly.

In the mouth of a feeding tube 10 having an annular grooved ring 11 at its upper end, isa feeding hopper or receptacle 12 provided at its mouth with a cover 13 having on its under side a circular rib l-l fitting in the groove of ring 11, a suitable gasket between the parts being provided. Cover 13 hasa central opening or mouth 15 adapted to be closed by a cap 16. equipped on its under surface with any suitable form of gasket or packing 17. Cap 16 is maintained in position to close the mouth 15, and the cover 13 is held in place by a clamp 18 having lingers 19 engaging the under surface of ring 11, a screw 20 passing through this clamp and pressing against the top of cap 16. The lower mouth of chamber 12 has a hopper 2]. with a tortuous or elbow-shaped passage 22 therethrough, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. Brackets 23 depend from hopper 22 and at their lower ends support. bearings adapted to receive a shaft 24 on which is mounted, below the mouth of passage 22, a feeding wheel 25, concaved at 26 and 27, as shown, the radius of curvature of the central concaved part 26, being less than that of the rims or outer edges 27. The eoncaved-ptu tion 26 has a number of transverse serrations or grooves 28, one

roughened or serrated, acting inside of which is abrupt, as shown in Fig. 2, these g'rooves or serrations extending only across the part 26 and not to the edges of the wheel. I

.Pivoted to the lug 29 on hopper 22 by a pin 30 is a U-shaped member 31 forming a connection between the mouth of the hopper and the surface of the feeding wheel, the lower edges of the sides of this U-shaped member riding upon and conforming to the curvature of the outer edges of the wheel 27, while the part, connecting these sides has its lower edge overlying and conforming in shape to, the concavity of the wheel surface. Also pivoted to the hopper 22 at the point 32 is a weighted door or valve 33 extending between and closing the space between the ends of the sides of U-shaped member 31, the lower edge of this door riding upon the part 26 of the feed-wheel and conforming to its surface. In order to turn this feed-wheel 25, I provide within the casing 34 aspring motor of the usual type and a regulating lever 35, controlled by an arm 36 operated by the gas reservoir. This spring motor has a downwardly extending shalt 37 mounted in suitable bearings 38 and 39 and having at its lower end a bevel gear 40 meshing with a screw gear 41 on a stub shaft 42, the'in- .ner end of which is supplied with a pair of arms 43 adapted to grasp and turn a transverse pin 44 extended through shaft 24.

The operation of this device is as follows. Assuming that the receptacle or chamber 12 has been charged with a sufficient quantity of carbid and that the motor within casing 34 has been wound up, then when the gas bell subsides, the arm 36 actuates the lever or arm 35, so as to set the motor in operation, whereby shafts 37 and 24, as well as the feed-wheel 25, are turned in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. The abrupt edges of thegrooves or serrations 28 grasp the particles of carbid. sufficiently to force them beneath the lower edge of door'33 which may rise, owing to its hinged connection with hopper 21, so as to allow the material to pass beneath it, whereupon it falls through 3 the tube 10 to the gas-generating chamber. If any of the material happens to be caught between the wheel and'the U-shaped member31, the latter mayrise, owing to its pivotal or hinged connection with the hopper,

It will thus be seen thatthe invention provides a vertical rotary feed-disk by wh ich the feed of the carbid is effected in a direction substantially tangential to the periphery of the disk, and provides in association therewith a pivoted yieldable closure, the normal tendency of which is to cooperate with the feed-disk so as to allow the material to pass between the two parts. 7

in closing the discharge passage from the carbid hopper, 4'

but which may yield under the crowding action of the carbid induced by the rotation of the feed-disk to permit the carbid to pass therebeneath.

it will be apparent that owing to the right-angled or tortuous passage through the hopper 21, the weight of the carhid in chamber 22 is transmitted almost entirely to the hopper itself and not to the carbid in the lower part of passsage 22 and in the connecting member 31. Owing to the connection between the spring motor and the gas bell, the generation of gas and the operation of the motor controlled by means of the bell in accordance with the amount of gas being consumed.

Although I have described in detail the construction of this feeding mechanism, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to these details, except to the extent indicated by the following claims, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous mechanical changes maybe made in the structure without departing from the substance of my invention.

I claim: p

1. in a device of the character described, the combination of a feeding hopper for the cal-bid of an acetylene gas generator, a feeding wheel (so-acting with said hopper, a U-shnped connector forming an extension of said hopper pivoted to the latter and adapted to ride on the periphery of said feeding wheel, a pivoted valve disposed between the sides of said connector, and means to turn said feeding wheel, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the haracter described, the combination of a feeding hopper for the carbid of an acetylene gas A sees generator, a feeding wheel having a concave periphery coacting with said hopper, a pivoted valve having its free edge shaped to conform to the concavity of said wheel, and a pivoted hopper extension to conform to the concavity of said wheel and adapted to ride thereon, substantially as described.

3. in a device of the character described, the combination of a feeding hopper for the carbid of an acetylene gas generator, a feeding wheel having a concave periphery, a

II-shaped connector-forming an extension of said hopper 40 pivoted to the latter and having its lower edge conforming to the surface of said feeding wheel and adapted to ride thereon, a pivoted valve disposed between the sides of said connector having its lower edge shaped to conform to the concavity of said wheel and adapted to ride on the periph- '45 ery thereof, and means to turn said feeding wheel, substantially as described. 7 1

4. in a device of the character described, the combine. tion of a feeding hopper, and a feeding wheel the periphery whereof is formed with and, on either side thereof, with concave surfaces of a less degree of curvature than said intermediate surface, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of a feeding hopper, and a feeding wheel the periphery whereof is formed with an intermediate concave surface and, on either side thereof, with concave surfaces of a less degree of curvature than said intermediate surface, said intermediate surface being corrugatedor roughened, and

the outer surfaces being smooth, substantially as described.

AUGUSTINE DAVIS.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL N. Penn, L. F. McClmA.

an intermediate concave surface 50 

